I’m partial to Valentine’s celebrated in. Like I mentioned in my last post, we usually order in or make something nice rather than have to deal with the craziness of going out on Valentine’s night. Last time, I shared one version of a Date Night In with a cheese and charcuterie spread. This post will be a home cooked version of Valentine’s night in, just in case you were waiting for the weekend to celebrate.

I think there are a couple of things to consider when creating a meal for a romantic evening. It shouldn’t be fussy or complicated. It also should be on the lighter side. Being all stressed out or too full and weighed down works against you later on in the evening romantically speaking. *Wink, wink.* The recipe I created today is ready in less than thirty, stress-free minutes, and it’s beautiful and elegant.

Of course, the wine should reflect the mood as well; the wines of Saint-Amour literally have love written all over them. What’s in the bottle grooves with the mood too. The wines tend to be light, floral, full of spiced berry flavors, and lots of minerality.

Saint-Amour is one of the ten Beaujolais Crus. I discussed three of the other Crus inthis previous post. See that post for more detail about the region as a whole, but here is a quick recap. The grape of Beaujolais is Gamay, which might best known for making fun, fruity light Beaujolais Nouveau. The ten Crus, however, are communes that have established a reputation for quality and each has its own personality. These wine are less likely to rely on carbonic maceration (or it’s used on a smaller percentage of the wine) and are more likely to be made in a classic Burgundian style. Across the board, the Crus tend to make really wonderful, food friendly wines, that are definitely worthy of serious exploration.

THE PAIRING

The day I opened it at home with Greg we picked up lots of raspberries lightly spiced with white pepper and cloves and violets on the nose. The berries and spice continued on the palate and were joined by cherries and floral potpourri, as well as a stony core. It was medium bodied, with bright, medium plus acidity, and a really light tannic grip. Even though this wine is medium in weight, it really opened up with time–the fruit got rounder and more supple.

Given that medium body and the light tannins, this seemed like a great red wine candidate to pair with fish, which automatically helps to keep the whole dish light. We opted for salmon, since it is a bit meatier. Alongside the salmon, I decided to serve it with a green salad adorned with raspberries, as well as almonds and goat cheese. I added a pinch of clove and white pepper to the dressing to bring out the spice notes in the wine.

The salmon preparation is based on a recipe by Mark Bittmanthat I absolutely love for its simplicity and deliciousness. Roasted citrus adds brightness, while butter adds richness and it’s so incredibly fast and easy!

I also added a little bit of balsamic glaze (purchased ready-made at Trader Joe’s) to perk up and add brightness to the food. It did just that, however, I will say that the vinegar shuts down the flavors in the wine. Use it sparingly as a garnish and mix it in with the rest of the food to keep it from flattening out the wine.

Altogether, it was a fresh and easy pairing. It comes together without breaking a sweat, won’t leave you feeling weighed down, and worked beautifully together.

GEEKY DETAILS

Saint-Amourgot its name from the legend of a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and escaped death. He started a monastery nearby and was later canonized as Saint Amateur. Amateur means “lover” in French, but without the romantic/sexual bent. Nonetheless, as you can probably guess, the wines of Saint-Amour get really popular right around Valentine’s Day.

Saint-Amour is one of the smallest Crus and it’s also the furthest north–it’s just south of Pouilly-Fuisse and Saint-Veran in Burgundy. (It actually even overlaps area a bit with Saint-Veran.) Despite being so far north, it has a few things going for it that actually help the grapes in this area ripen more easily than in some of the Crus further south. There are hills to the west that help to block the area from heavy weather systems. Warms winds arise from the hilly area that help keep the grapes dry and disease free. Saint-Amour itself if also pretty hilly, and those hills help position the vines to get maximum sun exposure, which helps ripen those grapes.

The soils here are also more diverse than in a lot of the rest of Beaujolais. You definitely find the granite that is common to a lot of the Beaujolais Crus, but you also find schist, clay, alluvium, and more. The diverse soils in this Cru give its distinct minerality. The La Foile vineyard, where today’s wine come from, has a mixture of ancient alluvial igneous rocks. (See more details on the soils and Domain Chardigny’s vineyards here.)

Domaine Chardigny is a family owned vineyard with a long history. Brothers Pierre-Maxime and Victor-Emmanuel Chardigny took control in 2014 and immediately set about converting the vineyards to organic farming–the family was already farming sustainably.

Victor is the youngest brother. He got a degree in Enology and Viticulture and now oversees the vineyards and winemaking. Pierre-Maxime is the oldest brother and has a business degree, so handles that side of the operation, but also works in the vineyard and cellars. There is also a middle brother–Jean-Baptiste–who isn’t currently working on the family business because he’s managing the Macon vineyards over at Domaine Leflaive. So there is some serious winemaking talent in the fam.

This wine is matured in a combination of concrete, stainless steel, and neutral oak barrels.

MONEY TALK

The suggested retail price on this wine is $26 and it makes a beautiful Date Night Wine not only for it’s ideally named area of origin, but also for it’s beautiful aromatic nose and bright palate.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

This wine should be pretty versatile and would make a great choice when dining out and need to accommodate multiple and diverse dishes. Beaujo Crus are a go-to for this purpose.

If you’d like to pair another red with this salmon the key factors are to focus on finding a wine with medium minus to light tannins that won’t class with the fish. Bright acidity will also help the wine stand up to all the citrus in the dish. A lighter Pinot Noir would be an easy swap. A number of white wines should also work easily with this dish. You can definitely head toward to the fuller end of the white spectrum, but be sure to pick something with a lot of freshness.

If you try a pairing you love, please share!

I have to be honest with you all–I’m really not big on going out for Valentine’s Day. Greg and I do celebrate it every year, but we’re more likely to order in or make something nice for ourselves. Our wedding anniversary also happens to be just a couple of days later, so we save the big dinner out for that celebration. Fewer people are likely to be out anyways, so it always feels way more chill. (Funny enough, this used to be our custom even before we got married.)

Pizza and take-out sushi are among our favorites for Valentine’s Day, but this year we went a cheese and charcuterie. Honestly, of all the cuisines and foods I love, cheap or fancy, a simple cheese and charcuterie might be absolute favorite thing–I think it’s what I’d have for my last meal. Bring on the cheese!!!

This year I’m working on Valentine’s evening (tonight) so we had ourselves a little date night in a fews days ago. Greg grilled slices of baguette in duck fat while I tossed together a salad. Then we laid out all the goodies–cheeses, prosciutto, pork rillettes, almonds, and chocolate to top things off.

To pair with this bounty I bought us a bottle one of the most perfectly named bottles of wines for the occasion–Broc Cellars Love Red North Coast 2016. Happily, the name isn’t just a marketing gimmick. The wine is legit.

The wine is legit, but how perfect is that label? Photo credit on all photos but this one to Greg Hudson.

Broc Cellars is an urban winery in Berkeley, California and the wines fall firmly in the natural wine camp. Winemaker Chris Brockway sources all of his grapes from biodynamic or organic vineyards, uses all native yeasts for his fermentations, and keeps sulphur to a minimum. He also tends to pick the grapes for his wines early to preserve acidity. In my experience with his wines they tend to be fun and funky.

The Love Red is no exception. It’s a blend of Carignan, Syrah, and Valdiguié. If you’re unfamiliar with Valdiguié, it’s a grape that originated in the Languedoc, but now is only seen in small quantities. For a while it was confused with Gamay in California, until DNA testing discovered its true origins. Nonetheless, it was allowed to be referred to as Napa Gamay until 1999. The mix up should tell you a little something about how it tastes though–Valdiguié tends to make light, fruity wine.

The wine kind of tastes like a Beaujolais and a Côtes du Rhône got together and had a baby. In fact, this kind of makes sense from the grape blend and makes even more sense when you look at the winemaking. The Valdiguié undergoes carbonic maceration, much like a Beaujolais. The Carignan and Syrah, on the other hand go through standard fermentation in stainless steel. The wine is then aged for eight months in neutral French oak barrels. (You can find more details on the tech sheet here.)

Greg called it “Rhoney”, so maybe it falls a little more into that camp than the Beaujo side. It had notes of really tart red cherries and a whole mix of red and blue berries that are all a little candied. There are light hints of dried and bitter herbs in mix, a little bit of spice, and a whiff of funk on the nose. It’s super juicy with lots of acidity and light tannins. It’s super easy to drink–definitely Gulpable.

The wine also went pretty easily with just about everything on the cheese board. It paired with all the charcuterie and all but the funkiest cheese–a Shropshire Blue. I got this at Bay Grape for $21. Broc Cellars also makes a white and rosé Love blend, in addition to this red. It’s a great pick for an chill Date Night In.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Stay tuned for another date night wine with later this week. And if you want more cheesiness, check back on another wine and cheese night here

Christine Hanna speaking to our group at the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference.

I recently shared a post about a wonderful lunch I attended at Hanna Winery as part of the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference. During the course of that lunch, it became very clear that owner Christine Hanna is interested in wine pairings and cuisine almost as much as she is in wine. We attendees were even gifted a copy of her cookbook The Winemaker Cooks: Menus, Parties, and Pairings. It is full of elegant yet simple recipes that are organized into seasonally appropriate menus. Along the way, she offers wine recommendations for each recipe, as well as insights, info, and wine tips throughout the book. As soon as I saw the book, I was excited to dive in and cook from it. Moreover, I was really interested to chat with her about her winery, experiences, and of course, wine pairing. (Check out my email conversation with Christine here.) Hanna actually only has about 10 acres of Malbec total, and makes 600 cases of their Flagship version, and 300 cases of their Reserve.Before we all sat down to eat lunch that day, we had a chance to taste some barrel samples of upcoming releases. I was intrigued by their Malbec, not the least because you still don’t see a ton of it in California. According to Christine and Jeff Hinchliffe, the winemaker at Hanna, this has at least partly to do with Malbec’s tendency to shatter (aka coulure)–essentially this is when grape clusters fail to develop into maturity. (Check out this article on VinePairif you’d like to know more. If the grapes don’t grow, the yields on plantings will be lower than ideal. Since I was tasting it from the barrel, the wine was still a bit rough around the edges. Nonetheless, it had a lot of dark fruit notes that were rich, but nonetheless, very bright. There were plenty of tannins, but even at that stage they were starting to smooth out. I decided to buy a bottle of an earlier vintage to bring home. In the lead up to this post, I asked Chris to make a recommendation on a pairing from her book.

Hanna Winery Malbec Alexander Valley Red Ranch 2013

THE PAIRING

Chris suggested her recipe for Pan-Seared Hanger Steak with Porcini-Merlot Reduction as a good match for the Hanna Malbec Alexander Valley Red Ranch 2013 (SRP $34). This seemed perfect to me–Malbec and steak are such a classic combo. I followed the recipe pretty closely to how it is written in the book, with a couple of small adaptations. My local grocery store was all out of porcini mushrooms and hanger steaks, so I swapped in shiitakes (recommended as an alternative in the book anyways) and skirt steak instead. The hanger and skirt cuts actually both come from the diaphragm of the cow, but the skirt steak is a little less flavorful and a little tougher. Given that, I decided to tenderize the meat a bit by pounding it with a meat mallet (always a great way to get out stress), and then let it spend some time in a simple marinade.If you’d like to make the recipe as prepared in the book, simply use hanger steak and skip step one; just remember to salt and pepper the steak. I decided to make this steak feast for a group of friends. In fact, we were celebrating our friend Toni’s birthday (check her out at ToniSicola.com and CultivatedWellBeing.com), so it seemed like a perfect time to try this recipe out. Since it was a fairly large group, I doubled the quantities given here. (Actually, I made about 5 lbs total of steak.) To make it easier to serve for a party without getting stuck in the kitchen the entire time, I did everything (mostly) ahead of time through the mushroom prep in step 3 below. When we were about ready to eat, I reheated the mushrooms and returned the steaks to the pan for the final 2 ½ minutes per side, working in batches. Alongside the steak I served roasted veggies–carrots, yellow squash, and potatoes–individually roasted at 425°F with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs, and a little squeeze of lemon on the carrots and squash to finish things off. I also served some sautéed collard green with garlic and topped with bacon. The combo was a crowd-pleaser. One friend commented, ‘I can’t pick it apart, but they do go really well together.’ I’ll go ahead and pick the wine apart a bit. The wine had all that rich fruit I recalled–lots of boysenberry, blackberry, and raspberries–with light hints of licorice spice, pepper, smooth tannins, and that bright streak of acidity I had found so appealing. (Note: Hanna is out of the 2013 Malbec tasted, but do currently have a very few cases of the Reserve 2014 Malbec. The 2015 Flagship is available as well.In the book, Christine recommends Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with this dish–which makes sense as Cab and steaks are also a classic combination. Since we were a large group, one bottle of wine with dinner was not going to be enough, so we had a chance to try a few more wines with the steak. Among them was a Cab and a really rich Merlot, both from California, and both definitely also went really well. However, what I particularly liked about this Malbec was that while it had plenty of rich, ripe fruit and enough body to match the weight of the steak, it also had a streak of orange peel freshness that was really uplifting to the palate and kept it all from feeling heavy.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lay out the skirt steaks on a cutting board and pound with a meat mallet to tenderize. Place the steaks in a bowl and top the Worcestershire sauce, shiitake mushroom powder, and sprinkle pinch of salt and pepper. Rub the mixture into the steaks and allow them to marinate for at least an hour. 2. In a large, heavy sauté pan or frying pan, heat the oil until medium-high heat until shimmering. Remove the steaks from the marinade and pat dry if necessary. Working in batches if necessary, add to the steaks to pan and sear in the hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. 3. Add the mushrooms to the pan and return to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add half the wine, deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any browned bit of meat. Cook the mushrooms for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining wine and the beef stock. Return the steaks to the pan, cover and cook for 2 ½ minutes on each side for medium-rare. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the steaks drizzled with the pan sauce and mushrooms.

Our year got off to a really quiet start. Greg was wrestling a flu, which kept us grounded and away from New Year festivities. Getting sick is unusual for him. Even more unusual is the fact that I didn’t catch a full-blown version as well. Sick or not, we still had ourselves some tasty eats to create cozy evenings in, even if we weren’t in tip top shape.

We happened to have some bottles from the Languedoc to keep us company the first week of 2018. The wines were sent as samples for this month’s look at Languedoc with the French Winophiles. Specifically, we’re looking at Corbières and Minervois. (While the wines were sent as samples, all opinions are my own.)

The Languedoc is a great region. It’s a go-to for us here at home, as well as when dining out. The region borders the Mediterranean in the south of France. It is a large and diverse region. On the one hand, it has a lot in common with the Rhône and Provence, which also border the Mediterranean. On the other hand, you’re likely to find a wider selection of grapes here–definitely Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Cinsault, as well as many of the big international varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and quite a few others.

There’s a lot of innovation in the area and there are many good values to be found. However, there’s a lot of schlock to wade through as well. It’s helpful to have some key names to fall back on. Corbières and Minervois are two appellations that have established their reputation for quality, making it a bit more likely that you're getting a solid option when you see these names on the bottle.

Sentinelle de Massiac Minervois 2015 with Lentil Soup

We started the year with the Minervois. There’s a tradition in my family of having lentil soup on New Year’s Day. Greg’s family has a similar one of starting the year with black-eyed peas and collard greens. Last year I elaborated on our fam’s tradition and wrote up a version of the recipe on Nibbling Gypsy. I made it again this year, although I swapped in some leftover butternut squash in for the potatoes. Lentils are very typical of Southern France, so I figured this was a good opportunity to open one of the bottles.

Minervois gets it name from the village of Minerve and it got its appellation status in 1985. Since then the wines have continued to improve over time thanks to lots of investments into winery equipment and better vineyard management. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, which must collectively make up at least 60% of the blend in Minervois. (Mourvèdre and Syrah must account for at least 20% of the blend.) Carignan and Cinsaut can make up the remainder.

I could only find a bit of info on the Sentinelle de Massiac Minervois 2015, but apparently it’s certified organic and is made up of about ⅔ Syrah, with about a ⅓ Carignan. (I’m not certain if that breakdown carries over for every vintage.) The Chateau traces its origins back to the Roman Empire, but the estate was burned to the ground during the French Revolution. Bernard Bourdouresques and his family took over and revived the estate.

The wine had notes of dark, brambly forest fruits–blackberries and raspberries–with a little red plum and baking spice. It ended up making a really nice match for the soup. Despite the dark fruits, it was pretty medium-bodied, so it didn’t overpower the soup, and the brambly, herbal qualities matched up nicely with the same herbs in the soup. It also opened up nicely with time (so decant it if you have time) and made for a really nice, easy drinking weeknight wine. (WineSearcher.com has the average price on this listed at $13.)

Domaine de Fontsainte Corbières 2016 with Lamb and Saucy Mushrooms

A few days later we had a chance to get into the Corbières. I made a giant boneless lamb leg that ended up being for just the two of us–thanks to sickness and all. (The recipe for this one will be coming soon to Nibbling Gypsy, but this reworking could be done with just about any roast.) It was obviously way more than two people could eat, so we had TONS of leftovers–and I love a leftover makeover. A few pretty simple twists made a whole new feast.

I’d made gravy to go with the lamb. I also had some mushrooms, which I sautéed simply with garlic and thyme in olive oil. I then added the leftover gravy (you can thin this out with stock or wine if desired) to make saucy mushrooms. I also made cauliflower steaks, which I find to be really beautiful. This recipe on AllRecipes.com basically captures what I did, although I roasted them at 425°F, since I like the cauliflower to be a little more toasty. I also added thyme to the cauliflower as well, as I figured there would be likely to be herbal notes to pick up in the wine.

To finish things off, I simply sliced the lamb leg into thick pieces that I seared in a pan to reheat them. I then served the lamb along with the cauliflower steaks and topped it all with the mushrooms.

Corbières is just south of Minervois in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountain. The soils of the area are largely based on schist and it is known for making rich wines. It’s a large area and has varied terroirs. In Corbières AOC, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache must make up at least half the blend in the red wines. Carignan, which was once dominant, must now not make up more than half.

Photo Credit on this and the lamb pictures: Greg Hudson.

The Domaine de Fontsainte Corbières 2016 comes from a spot near Boutenac in an area known as “The Golden Crescent” that is known for being one the sunniest spots in the region. The vineyards have a south-southeast exposure and are protected from harsh winds be a large forest. At the same time, sea breezes help the grapes maintain a fresh balance. The Romans surrounding a thermal spring built the first vineyards on the estate. The spring was later named after Saint Siméon, a local patron saint. So Fontsainte is the “saint’s fountain.” The Laboucarié’s family has been making wine here since the seventeenth century and developed a reputation for quality.

Here are some quick additional details taken from Kermit Lynch’s(their importer) website:

• 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache Noir, 10% Syrah • Grenache and Syrah are de-stemmed by hand; Carignan goes through carbonic maceration• Silica, clay, limestone (gravelly with large galets, or rounded stones)• Grapes are hand harvested• Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled vats for 14 days• Wine rests for 6 months before being racked into barrel• Wine aged for 6 months in French oak barrelsSimilar to the Minervois, this Corbières had brambly forest fruits with thyme and other herbs. Here the fruits were a bit darker though with more blackberries than raspberries, and some dark plums and spice. (This somewhat surprising, since the Minervois had more Syrah.) It was plush, without being overbearing, and particularly velvety once it had a chance to open up. It was perfect with the lamb and it really picked up the herbal and spice notes in the food. I think this is an excellent value find–WinerSearcher.com has the average price listed at $14.

I think was a bit partial to the Corbières, but both of these wines would make great House Wines–perfect for everyday drinking.

*****

As I mentioned, the rest of the French Winophiles are also exploring Corbières and Minervois this month. Be sure to check out their posts as well, as there are sure to be quite a few delicious things on the menu.

At the end of October I tagged along with my friend Kristinon a tour and tasting of Covenant Wines, an urban winery in Berkeley, California. It turned out to be such a great visit!Covenant also happens to be kosher. If the thought of kosher wine leads you straight to thoughts of Manischewitz, get those images right out of your head. These wines have nothing to do the sweet, syrupiness of Manischewitz. These are beautiful, classically made wines; they’re just also kosher.

I’m not Jewish, so the kosher aspect wasn’t the draw for me. I’d heard really good things about their wines from a couple of friends. We also sell a couple of their wines at Bay Grape and they’re lovely. I was really just interested in checking out their wines and operation.

Kristin noses a barrel sample.

Now while the kosher aspect wasn’t the draw, I did find their way of handling the kosher requirements (specifically the mevushal requirements) interesting. Before we get there though, let’s take a quick look at what ‘kosher wine’ means. There are a few levels on the kosher scale. Here’s a quick recap, in case you’re a Gentile like me and you're unfamiliar or you're Jewish and just need a refresher:• Kosher: First up, to be kosher wine must be made up of all kosher ingredients. There really aren’t any non-kosher items among the list of required ingredients for wine, so that isn’t typically a big problem. (There are a few things that can be used as clarifying agents and such that would potentially fall into this category, but they’re pretty easily avoided.) The bigger factor according to kashrut law (Jewish dietary law) concerns who handles the wine. Only Sabbath-observant Jews can handle the wine–from crushing to bottling.• Kosher for Passover: Now if you keep kosher and want to have a glass of wine with your Passover Seder dinner, the wine needs to go one step up. Wines that are kosher for Passover must have been kept free from contact with chametz – a product that is made from one of five types of grain and has become leavened. This would include grain, bread, and dough. • Mevushal: This literally means “cooked.” According traditional Jewish law, if a wine is served by a non-Jewish server, it is no longer kosher. Therefore, if you want to have kosher wine in a mixed company setting–restaurants, weddings, parties, etc–you need to go up another level. Mevushal wines have been heated to a point that allows them to keep their kosher status, no matter who has handled them. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the tradition and the ‘why’s’ of it all, l found this engaging article on MyJewishLearning.com) The downside to this, of course, is that cooking a wine is a really good way to make taste pretty awful. Nowadays, there are ways around this. Most typically, the wine will be flash pasteurized, which heats the wine very quickly for 15 to 30 seconds. Covenant uses a technique calledflash détente(which literally translates ‘instant relaxation’) to make their mevushal wines, a process that was developed to improve color extraction. In this process fully ripe, crushed, and destemmed grapes are rapidly heated to 160°F-200°F (achieving pasteurization) for a minute or less and then immediately put under vacuum. In the vacuum, the grape skins rupture and the structure of the grapes’ skin cells are broken down, thereby releasing color components (anthocyanins), as well as aroma compounds. The technique was originally developed to extract flavors out of fruits, however, France’s INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) then applied the technology to wine in the early 1990’s. The use of the vacuum differentiates it from other forms of flash pasteurization or thermovinification. The process wasn’t developed for the purposes of making kosher wine, but it accomplishes the goal quite nicely. Flash détente has other benefits as well. It doesn’t over-extract harsh tannins, as some other methods of extracting color from grapes have a tendency to do. It also turns out to reduce pyrazines\ compounds, which contribute to green, bell pepper flavors and aromas in certain grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc (they’re all related). Also, by killing off microbes in the wine, you reduce the possibility of off flavor. To their knowledge, they’re the only ones making wines from 100% grapes that have gone through flash détente–typically it’s used for a portion of a blend. According to the crew at Covenant the only real downside is that they have found that their mevushal wines don’t age quite as well as the rest of their wines. Therefore, they’re intended to be drunk young. (Ok, I realize that this is all pretty geeky. However, if you want to geek out even more, check out this article on WinesandVines.com and this product sell sheet I found describing the technology. I found the “flash water” section on the WineandVines.com article particularly interesting.)

The full line of Covenant Wines.

Covenant makes both mevushal and non-mevushal wines and there are really beautiful wines among all the offerings. And again, it was such a fun visit. I turned out to have a lot in common with co-owner Jeff Morgan–he also worked at Wine Spectator and is also very interested in food and wine pairing. He and his wife Jodie (who is also a co-owner) have written eight cookbooks together!I really want to thank Jeff, general manager Sagie Kleinlerer, and winemaker Jonathan Hadju for a wonderful visit, as well as Kristin for letting me tag along. (Be sure to check out Kristin's site Nourish.)

Kristin and I with Covenant Wines Co-Owner Jeff Morgan.

THE PAIRING

Photo credit on all of the food and wine shots: Greg Hudson. The bottle of Neshama was provided as a sample.

And now it’s time for a little soul. (That’ll make sense in a sec.)Today’s wine is Covenant’s Neshama Sonoma County 2014. It’s a blend of Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Syrah (60/30/10). Neshama means “soul” or “spirit” in Hebrew and it’s made by selecting the winery’s favorite barrels out of Sonoma (from grapes other than Cab) to create a wine that reflects the “soul” of the vintage. I loved this wine and brought it home from the visit to the winery. (Full disclosure, it was given to me as a sample at the winery. Please note, however, that all opinions are my own.) I sat down with Greg to taste it again and to plan a dish to pair with it that same evening. The wine had a mix of red and black fruits–berries, dark plum sauce, and black cherries. There were hints of spice along with smoked paprika, and mix red pepper and green peppercorns. Light herbals notes of bramble and tomato leaf added interest, along with a smoky meaty quality. There were substantial tannins, but they were supple, and while it’s a big wine it had enough acidity to back it up. It was velvety with a long finish. Given that this wine was quite bold, we thought it would be perfect for a really meaty dish. It was a chilly night and something warm and cozy seemed in order. Plus, something “soulful” seemed right in line with the wine. Greg had been craving goulash(Hungarian beef stew seasoned with paprika and other spices) for a while and that actually seemed like a perfect match for the deep, smoky flavors in the wine. I looked at several recipes in creating this goulash for reference, including this one from SeriousEats.com, among others. I decided to play the smoky qualities up further by combining some smoked paprika with the usual sweet paprika. A smattering of herbs brought out those hints in the wine. We also found that adding a little cocoa rounded out and deepened all the flavors. When making a stew, most recipes will have you put mirepoix veggies in a stew at the beginning, strain them out, then add new ones in the final phase of cooking, once the first batch has become mushy. This is also the method I was taught in culinary school. Honestly, I get not wanting to have the mushy vegetables, but at the same time it’s such a pain in the butt to strain them out. It also seems a little wasteful to me. I developed a little technique of my own to skip this step. I pull out the chunks of meat–they tend to be bigger and are much easier to fish out than all the veg–then I use an immersion blender to smooth out the veggies. This helps create a thicker consistency without making a roux out of extra butter or flour. I then just add the meat back in with the new veggies and keep on cooking. I find it a whole lot easier and nothing goes to waste. One more shortcut–I often use baby carrots in stews when I don’t feel like chopping as much. Obviously, cutting up whole carrots work as well.The wine and the goulash danced together. It was seamless pairing. The wine really picked up the paprika and herbs in the sauce and brought those qualities out further. The wine even seemed more structured with the stew; in particular, an extra level of brightness came out in the wine. A hearty, thick piece of bread to soak up all the sauce is the perfect final accessory to the mealYUM!

GEEKY DETAILS

The grapes for this wine are sourced from various vineyards in Sonoma County. The winery has long-standing relationships with growers in Bennett Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Dry Creek Valley, and Sonoma Valley, as well as in Napa and Lodi for their other wines. Production notes taken from the tech sheet:• All native yeast fermentation. • Native malolactic fermentation• Unfined and unfiltered• Aged for 18 months in 100% French Oak (30%new)• 169 cases producedThis wine is Kosher for Passover.

MONEY TALK

The SRP on the Neshama is $72, which is definitely a Splurge. However, it drinks beautifully and I would say this is still competitive with other top tier wines from Sonoma and Napa. That said the winery makes quite a few other wines at less expensive price points. I highly recommend The Tribe Chardonnay. It’s wonderfully balanced and elegant Chard and has an SRP of $32.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

This is a big, bold stew and can handle a big, bold wine–bring out the big guns. I think the spice factor that tends to come from oak treatment in the New World reds works well here. (Within reason, that is–-I don’t care for wines that are over-oaked to the point you feel like you’re tasting a piece of wood.) It can also handle substantial tannins, but ideally the tannins are ripe and sweet. Warmer Old World reds from areas like Ribera del Duero or the Douro should also work well.Let me know if you find another pairing you love with this!